The present invention relates generally to a medical diagnostic table and more particularly to a heated medical diagnostic table for increased patient comfort.
Modern medical facilities often subject patients to a cold, austere, and sterile environment. While certain aspects of these environments are necessitated by the desire to safeguard a patient""s health, others merely serve to increase the discomfort the patients may already be experiencing. The thin gowns worn by patients, while allowing quick and easy access to the patient""s body for diagnosis or treatment, often result in exposed skin or lightly covered skin that is vulnerable to the cold surfaces of the medical environment. This exposure can result in discomfort and may undesirably stress the patient. While this is undesirable for any patient, additional concerns may be raised when seriously ill or injured patients are exposed to these added stressors.
In addition to causing general discomfort, cold surfaces within the medical environment may provide additional complications. During examination where patients may need to hold particular positions, cold medical surfaces can act as heat sinks to the human skin and pull heat from the body. This may make it difficult for the patient to remain in the particular position necessary for examination. When the patient must be on the exam table for long periods of time, this increased patient discomfort may further increase exam time by inducing patient motion and thereby requiring repositioning of the patient. In addition, patient movement during imaging can result in undesirable double exposure images. It would therefore, be highly desirable to increase the comfort of such surfaces such that patient comfort discomfort is decreased and examination procedures can be simplified.
Although the application of heat to a diagnostic table may on its surface appear to be a straightforward proposition, design constraints associated with medical imaging can present complications for the use of many heating methodologies. Electrical coils, for example, may result in electrical interference with some imaging technologies. Other technologies may absorb x-rays or other imaging signals and thereby prove impractical. Additionally, even inert heating methodologies such as fluid flow may prove impractical by requiring noisy and bulky pumping systems. Furthermore, the ability to retrofit existing diagnostic tables may be hampered by the use of complex bulky designs. Non-interference, small profile, low cost, and the ability to retrofit can be important design considerations for a heated medical diagnostic table.
It would, therefore, be highly desirable, to have a heated medical diagnostic table having a heating element with a relatively small profile, that did not interfere with medical imaging signals, and that could be easily retrofitted to existing medical diagnostic tables.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a cost effective, non-interfering, low profile heat generating medical diagnostic table with positive retrofitting characteristics.
In accordance with the objects of the present invention, a heat generating medical diagnostic table is provided. The heat generating medical diagnostic table includes a heater array comprising a conductive polymer coating bonded to a film base.
Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent when viewed in light of the detailed description of the preferred embodiment when taken in conjunction with the attached drawings and appended claims.